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Worker Drove Tug Under Parked Plane's Wing

A
ground worker at Naples Municipal Airport (APF) in Florida was
killed Wednesday night, when he accidentally drove an airport tug
under the wing of a parked aircraft, and was pinned between the
wing and the ground vehicle.

The Naples Daily News reports the unidentified 46-year-old man
had started working at the airport two months before.

"He was still in training," said Naples Airport Authority
spokeswoman. "He was a Tech-One, but he was doing the task that he
had been signed off for doing... He was working with a Tech-3. He
was still being supervised."

Officials say the collision caused a cut on his arm, and
internal injuries. He was conscious afterward, and talked with
coworkers before he was airlifted to an area hospital. He went into
cardiac arrest on the medevac flight, and later died.

The accident cast a pall over operations at the airport, where
workers had celebrated the facility's busiest day ever. In addition
to extra recreational traffic due to the upcoming President's Day
weekend, the airport also hosted several additional corporate
aircraft due to a meeting of Fortune 500 CEOs in Naples.

"Everybody's spirits were high, everything came off without a
hitch. Everyone was in a great mood and to have something like this
happen late in the day like that, everyone is simply shocked," said
Foster.

It is the first fatal accident at the Naples airport. The NTSB
is investigating.